Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast reached around 227,000 tonnes between October 1 and November 4, compared to 102,536 tonnes in the same period a year earlier, exporters estimated on Monday. The exporters estimated 54,000 tonnes of beans had arrived at ports in the week of October 29 to November 4, up from 31,328 tonnes in the same week a year earlier.
"We're really getting into the main harvest now. In general, November and December are the hottest months for purchases," said the director of an international exporter in Abidjan. "If all goes well, we should have at least 50,000 tonnes each week until the end of the month," he said.
The October-March main crop is the larger of two annual harvests in the world's top cocoa grower and usually turns out around 1 million tonnes, though exporters hope that after months of regular rainfall it could be higher this year.